Bill Simmons spoke about Scottie Barnes signing a massive 5-year, $270 million contract extension with the Raptors on his podcast. Simmons noted that Barnes is not a first option on a contending team. He then called Barnes’ new reported contract ‘crazy’, claiming that it is ridiculous on both sides because Barnes isn’t worth that money yet.
“He’s a 2 on a contending team. He’s not a 1… I know it’s 2024, we live in this world where part of the media’s job has to be to just cheer when someone gets an extension or a giant contract. That contract is crazy. It’s a crazy contract. Scottie Barnes, $270 million for 5 years is f*cking batsh*t. There’s no way he’s worth that…”
He added that Barnes’ contract is ridiculous because he isn’t even a top-50 player in the NBA. While he noted that Barnes could play his way into earning the contract, he believes the Raptors should have waited another year before they committed to signing Barnes to a full 5-year max contract.
“That’s just a nutty contract, I don’t agree with it. I don’t have him as a top-50 guy in the league right now. Could he be a top-50 guy? Sure, but I would rather (have) wanted another year before I decided to commit to an actual full max 5-year deal?”
(57:31 onwards)
Scottie Barnes has had quite an interesting run with the Raptors since entering the NBA. Barnes was drafted fourth overall by the Raptors in the 2021 NBA Draft. He would end up surprising a lot of fans, as he surpassed players drafted ahead of him like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green to win Rookie of the Year.
Since then, Barnes has been able to show steady development. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, as he took the next leap in his career. But there are some reasonable questions to ask about his massive extension.
Will Scottie Barnes Be Worth The Massive Extension?
Scottie Barnes has been consistently improving since entering the NBA. Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his rookie year, and he won the Rookie of the Year award. The next season, his number stayed similar, with him averaging 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
It was in his third season this year that Barnes took a major leap in his numbers. He averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists. As mentioned before, he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, although, he was brought in as a replacement for Julius Randle, who was injured.
Barnes still didn’t make any of the All-NBA teams this year, and the Raptors missed out on the playoffs. So the questions surrounding his effectiveness as a leading star of a franchise are valid, especially with the massive extension that he just signed.
With this extension, Barnes is making $54 million a season, despite never even taking the Raptors to the playoffs. Now, if the Raptors are able to build a solid team around him, and he takes another leap in his play, then this money will be worth it. But the concerns surrounding his value will be something for Raptors fans to keep an eye on.
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